Blackboard washer



March 23 1926. y l,577,944

I A. P. BENNINGTON BLACKBOARD WASHER Filed May 2, 1925 Bfmffwm other liquid through Patented Mar. 23, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE.

BLACKBOARD WASHEB'.

Application filea may 2, 1925. serial no. 27,348.

To all 'whom z't may comer'n:

Be it known that I, ALBERT P. BENNING- rroN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in a Blackboard lVasher, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvement in a blackboard washer, and has for its primary object to provide an exceedingly simple and effective device of this character whereby a blackboard may be readily and easily washed with water or the medium of 'a Sponge held within a suitable receptacle or container thus making it possible to give the board a thorough wetting rather than merely mois'tening it.

Anotherobject of this invention is to provide receptacle or container of unique construction for holding a wet Sponge, only a.

relatively small portion of which protrudes from the receptacle.

A further object of my invention is to produce a blackboard washerincluding a receptacle or container constructed of flexible material, such as rubber or a composition material embodying rubber, said container adapted to hold a lmoist sponge and to retain the liquid squeezed from said sponge when the latter is compressed during the washing Operations so that said liquid will not run down the user's arm or splash about to wet the clothing of the user. v

A still further object of this invention is to provide means to prevent the accidental displacement of the sponge from the container. An advantage of such an arrangement is that the exposed part of the Sponge may be dipped in a receptacle containing liquid so as to absorb some of said liquid without dropping the Sponge.

With these ends in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains, may understand how to make and use the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawmgs forming a part of this application, in which Fig. 1, is a plan view of a blackboard washer constructed in accordance with my mvention.

Fig 2, is a sectional elevation of the same with the Sponge in place and illustrated in elevation.

In carrying out my invention as here em'- bodied, 2 represents a container or recepta- `cle including a back wall 3 and arcuate side walls 4, the free ends of which converge to produce a restricted mouth 5. This receptacle 0x' container is'produced from rubber, a composition material including rubber or other suitable material having flexible water proof qualities and therefore to stiffen or strengthen ,the back wall of the receptacle said back wall is made thicker than the side walls and preferably tapers into thr` side walls.

The side walls of the container or receptacle of the washer being constructed so that they converge toward their outer edges a chamber 6 is formed with the aforementioned restricted mouth or entrance 5 so as to retain a quantity of liquid thus preventing the washer from drying out quickly and preventing the liquid from being splashed about on 'other objects surrounding the locality where the washer is used.

A sponge 7 is sufliciently compressed to pass a portion thereof through the month 5 into the container where it will remain due to its expansibility. The back wall of the device is provided with a hand-hold 8 produced by forming an integral projection on said back wall and this hand-hold has a socket 9 therein for the reception of a handle which may be a rod, wooden pole or the like so that if the person using the washer is not tall enough to reach the board, or any portion thereof, the handle may be utilized.

In practice the protruding portion of the Sponge is placed in water and said Sponge allowed to absorb a desirable quantity thereof after which the washer is ready for use. The operator then places the washer against the blackboard to be washed in such a position that the protruding portion of the sponge will engage the blackboard surface.

and by then moving the washer in various directions with the proper pressure thereon said blackboard will be sufliciently wet and washed so as to insure the proper cleansing thereof when wiped with a` proper Wiping device. During the Washing Operations a quantity of the water may be squeezed from the Sponge andl if this occurs said water will be retained in the container or receptacle and when the pressure is relieved the Water previously expelled from the Sponge Will be again absorbed thereby retaining a sufiicient amount of moisture to carry out a considerable washing operation without the necessity if continually rewetting the Sponge and at the same time eliminating the objectionable splashes and drippings of water from the Sponge.

The receptacle or container being producedfrom rather soft fiexible material prevents the ossibility of damaging the blackboard sur ace during the Washing Operations and permits the back Wall to be flexed for squeezing the liquid out of the enclosed part of the Sponge into the exposed part.

It is to be particularly noted that as the receptacle or container is of rubber or rubber composition it will retain Water for long periods of time without deterioration and there being nothing to foul the Water the device is more samtary than rags or other articles generall used for this class of work. Of course I o not wish to be limitedv to the exact details of construction as herein shown as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and' useful is:-

1. As an articleof ma-nufacture, a Spongeholder of rubber including a back Wall,y side walls thinner than said back wall and having their free ends converging to produce a restricted month and With the back wall forming a Chamber to receive a portion of a Sponge, and a hand-hold projecting from said back wall.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 Wherein the hand-hold is provided With a' ALBERT P. BENNINGTON. 

